702.

Andean Vesper Mouse

Calomys lepidus

French: Calomys des Andes / German: Anden-Vespermaus / Spanish: Raton laucha de los Andes

Other common names: Graceful Laucha

Taxonomy. Hesperomys (Calomys) bimaculatus var. lepidus Thomas, 1884, “ Junin [Junin],” near Lake Junin, central Peru.

Morphometric and morphological diversity found along the almost 1500km long distribution of C. lepidus, in addition to differences in chromosomal counts, might suggest that more than one species is currently referred to as C. lepidus. Monotypic.

Distribution. Andes from C Peru S through extreme NE Chile and Bolivia to NW Argentina.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 63-65 mm, tail 29-7-47 mm, ear 14-19 mm, hindfoot 13-4-20 mm; weight 10-16 g. Dorsal pelage of the Andean Vesper Mouse is silky, smooth, lustrous, and light gray, with interspersed black and brown hairs, more abundant along mid-back. White post-auricular patches are prominent. Venter has whitetipped hairs,slate at bases; and tail is buffy to whitish. Forefeet and hindlegs are covered with white and golden hairs.

Habitat. Puna grassland, ecotonal habitats, and potato and quinua fields at elevations of 2950-4850 m.

Food and Feeding. The Andean Vesper Mouse is granivorous-herbivorous.

Breeding. Apparently Andean Vesper Mice reproduce year-round; females carry an average of four embryos.

Activity patterns. The Andean Vesper Mouse is mainly nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Anderson (1997), Bonaventura, Tecchi et al. (1998), Dorst (1971), Dunnum, Vargas, Bernal, Zeballos, Vivar, Patterson, Jayat &Teta (2016), Espinosa et al. (1997), Ferro & Barquez (2008), Haag et al. (2007), Hershkovitz (1962), Jayat, Ortiz & Miotti (2008), Olds (1988), Ortiz et al. (2000), Pearson (1951a), Salazar-Bravo (2015c), Sanborn (1950).